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斗鸡 (dòu jī) — (noun) cockfighting, the activity of setting roosters to fight; (noun) gamecock, a rooster bred for fighting

Definition

斗鸡 is a noun referring to the cockfight activity (verb form uses the split 斗…鸡). It names both the event itself and the gamecock bred for it.

noun
cockfighting, the activity of setting roosters to fightgamecocka rooster bred for fighting
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 斗鸡。
    dòu jī Shì yí xiàng gǔ lǎo de dǔ bó huó dòng.
    Cockfighting is an ancient gambling activity.
  • 。
    Tā men zuó tiān dòu le yí cì jī.
    They held a cockfight yesterday.
  • 斗鸡，。
    Zhè zhī dòu jī fēi cháng xiōng měng, hěn nán duì fu.
    This gamecock is very fierce and hard to deal with.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

斗dòufight
鸡jīrooster

斗 “fight” + 鸡 “rooster” gives cockfighting or a fighting rooster.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 斗 originally showed a ladle-shaped dipper or cup used to measure grain, held in a hand.

Open 斗 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 雞; 鸡 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuīshort-tailed bird
Sound part声符shēngfú
奚
奚xī雞jī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雞 pairs 奚, which gives the sound, with 隹, a short-tailed bird. The simplified 鸡 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the historical 奚.

Open 鸡 →
Appears in
Birds

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